Jealousy
by Ookami Z
Summary: After seeing Hawke flirt with Tallis, Merrill has finally had enough and gives her girlfriend an ultimatum. Can Lady Hawke realize her mistake in time to save her relationship with the elven mage? Lady Hawke & Merrill. Set after the end of the second DLC.


Disclaimer: Bioware owns the Dragon Age 2 characters.

Story set right after the end of the DLC "Mark of the Assassin" with Lady Hawke and Merrill romance.

Jealousy

"You were flirting with her weren't you, Marian?"

And there it was. The first sign that Merrill was upset at Hawke. She never used her first name outside of the bedroom since she had grown used to calling the human mage by her last name, leaving the use of her first name to be only in the privacy of their bedroom or in instances where she was mad.

Like now.

"I wasn't flirting with her." Hawke explained as she sat on the edge of their bed and began to remove her boots while Merrill stood by the fire place in the room with her back towards Hawke, "I was only being friendly."

Merrill scoffed, something unusual for the elven mage, "Friendly?" Turning abruptly towards her lover, the elven mage watched as Hawke seemed to ignore her as she went on to remove her armor, "That was far more than friendly, I think. Sin-Since the ambush" Merrill stuttered as she did when she was nervous, "You began flirting with Tallis from the moment she saved us from that ambush in the market in Hightown."

Hawke looked up and smiled, "I was only being friendly, love. You know I meant nothing by it. When she left, you even joked with her and told her she should be a little jealous didn't you?"

"What else could I do?" Merrill hated any sort of confrontation where she couldn't use her magic, and especially if her rival was Hawke. Hawke always won. "I didn't want to make a scene or anything, seem like the crazed-jealous girlfriend."

Hawke dropped her armor on the ground, knowing Bodahn would pick it up later, and focused on Merrill. Hawke couldn't help but grin at the way that Merrill spoke too quickly and her cheeks blushed when she was trying to say something that was on her mind but was too angry at the same time to speak coherently. It was too cute.

"Merrill," Hawke said in a soft voice as she approached Merrill and wrapped her arms around the slender elf, "You know you are my only one, so why make such a fuss?"

"It's not a fuss!" Merrill exclaimed as she pushed away from Hawke, "It's always the same thing, Hawke, and I don't like it."

A look of confusion appeared on Hawke's face as the elf walked across to the other side of the room, "What do you mean?"

With a sigh, Merrill sat on the edge of the large bed, taking a deep breath in order to regain control of herself. "Every time we go out, be it on a mission or shopping or simply on a walk, you always end up chatting up the first pretty girl you see." Merrill paused and lowered her face slightly, "I know I'm not the prettiest girl, and I know humans tend to find other humans more attractive than elves, and even though it always bothers me, I guess it bothered me more now that you were flirting with Tallis who is also an elf like me."

Hawke was shocked to see tears pooling Merrill's eyes as she looked up to meet Hawke's, "When you flirt with human women, I guess I understand more because they are prettier than me and I can't compete with that, but another elf just makes me feel horrible because she is just like me, so I just don't understand."

"Merrill, I'm so sorry," Hawke began as she made her way over to Merrill, "I never meant to make you feel that way." Merrill felt Hawke take a seat beside her, "It just happens, Merrill, it's just how I am. I don't take notice of the fact that I flirt with women...it just happens."

Merrill shot up from beside Hawke and stormed towards the bedroom door, "It can't just _happen._ Everyone knows that you are always flirting with women!"

Hawke had never seen Merrill so angry as she watched the petite elf stand by the door with her arms crossed across her chest and tears staining her pale face, "Even Tallis said it, you have a reputation."

"I don't mean for it to happen, Merrill, It's just how I am." Hawke tried in vain to defend herself but failed as Merrill turned to the door, "Then maybe, I don't like how you are anymore."

Struck speechless with Merrill's words, Hawke watched as Merrill left the room and then heard Bodahn bidding her goodbye as she left the estate.

~OoOoOoOoOoOoO~

"Good morning Messere," Bodahn greeted as Hawke took a seat at the table to have breakfast, "Will Messere Merrill be joining us for breakfast?" He asked, not sure if Merrill had returned last night, perhaps after he and his son had gone to bed.

"Morning, and no." Hawke answered before shoving food into her mouth, not wanting to talk any further. Bodahn nodded in understanding. He figured as much, considering the elven woman had rushed out of the estate the night before with tears in her eyes. He had tried to offer his help but Merrill had only smiled weakly as she waved him goodbye.

He had no idea what could have caused the two mages to fight after coming home from a mission but nevertheless, he kept quiet and offered his master more juice.

After breakfast, Hawke returned to her bedroom for an hour or so before coming out in full armor. "Are you going on another mission Messere?" Bodahn asked as the champion made her way down the stairs.

"No," Hawke replied, "I'm going down to the alienage, I'll be back later."

Bodahn nodded, "Have a good time, Messere."

There was no reply as Hawke left the estate. Bodahn knew that his master was not the most polite nor the nicest, but she was a kind woman who had gone through far too much in her young life. He knew that Merrill was the love of her life, he could tell simply by the way her eyes filled with love and adoration every time they were on Merrill, and that she had worn her full Champion robes to go look for Merrill just because she knew that the elf found her irresistible with them on. Bodahn had heard it himself on an unfortunate day when he had walked a bit too close to the masters' bedroom when they had returned from a mission.

He still blushed from the memory.

"Good luck, Messere Hawke." He whispered under his breath before continuing with his cleaning.

"Thank you," Hawke said as she paid the merchant and took the bouquet of roses from him. She couldn't help but smile as she imagined the look on Merrill's face when her Champion appeared at the alienage with the flowers. She knew that Merrill had never cared for the titles, fame nor riches, but she knew it was definitely a plus for Merrill to be able to show off the Champion as her lover. Or so she hoped.

As Hawke made her way down from Hightown and into Lowtown, she couldn't help but think about Merrill's words. It had been the only thing she had done last night after Merrill had left. She had wanted to follow her but she decided to give the elven mage time to calm down instead.

"Am I really that much of a flirt?" She asked herself silently as she walked through Lowtown. She looked around and spotted several women who struck her fancy, but that was all. They were pretty, she could see herself talking to them, chatting them up, but nothing else. Nobody made her heart race the way Merrill did. Only Merrill could do that. Did she not see?

Perhaps Merrill had a jealousy problem, she decided, after all, it was only in fun that she flirted with women. She meant nothing by it. Tallis was a beautiful woman, she couldn't help but flirt with her. Sure, she supposed she shouldn't have done it right in front of Merrill, but then again, she always had Merrill around her, so it was inevitable that Merrill would notice.

At least, she wasn't flirting behind Merrill's back, so it couldn't be too bad. Before reaching the alienage, Hawke stopped by a puddle and looked at her reflection. She couldn't help but smirk.

She was hot. She couldn't help if both women and men were attracted to her. Sure she was a mean, ruthless bitch and had a bad temper and tended to have psychotic moments...often...but she was hot and the Champion of Kirkwall. She deserved it.

Merrill just needed to cool it down with her jealousy.

Once she was done with her private vanity moment, she straightened herself and made her way down the steps and into the alienage with the flowers in hand. Her boots clinked lightly against the stone floor as she walked towards Merrill's old house. She wondered why Merrill still kept the place and visited so often.

"Ma serannas, Angrod, you are too kind." Hawke froze in her tracks as she turned at the distinct sound of Merrill's voice and spotted her a few feet away from her house as she talked to an young elven man.

Hawke felt a fire surge within her upon recognizing Angrod as the elf who had tried to steal Merrill from her when Merrill had first arrived at the alienage. Sure, maybe back then Merrill wasn't officially hers yet but nevertheless, Hawke didn't like seeing him so close to Merrill.

"It was nothing, emm'asha, if anything, it was my pleasure to be able to help you." Angrod replied as he laid a hand on Merrill's shoulder.

Hawke didn't know much elven, but she could not stop herself as she stormed towards him after hearing him call Merrill, "my girl." Seeing the look of surprise in Merrill's face made her feel better, but not enough to stop her.

Merrill had been shocked to hear Angrod call her such thing, knowing not only that she was already with Hawke, but also that she was in no way interested in him, but her shock increased when she saw a flash of armor before seeing Angrod pinned to the wall of her house. All the elves in the alienage rushed towards the scene but did nothing to protect Angrod. After all, it was the Champion of Kirkwall who had him pinned.

Shaking off the shock, Merrill rushed to Hawke's side just in time to hear Hawke threaten the elf she had in her grip.

"Ar tu na'din." Hawke said through gritted teeth. Sure, she did not know much elven, but she knew a few vital words. "I will kill you" was the first elven phrase she had learned after all.

"Hawke! What are you doing? Let him go!" Merrill tried to pull Hawke away but of course the mage was stronger and did not weaken her grip. Force mage being one of her specializations gave her greater physical strength than normal humans.

Angrod could not do anything but struggle as he feared for his life. He knew he shouldn't have tried anything with the Champion's girl but he couldn't help himself. Especially since he saw Merrill arriving late to the alienage the night before and he figured the two women had had a fight. He thought it was a great opportunity for him, but he didn't count on being killed by the champion for his try.

Hawke could feel Merrill pulling on her but her mind was clouded with rage. How could this piece of insignificant alienage trash try to take Merrill from her? What if Merrill left her to go with him? Maybe he didn't flirt with women the way she did...would Merrill really leave her for a Lowtown loser like him? Yes, she had started out in Lowtown too, but she had made a name for herself, she was the Champion and was on the way to becoming Viscount of Kirkwall now that Meredith was gone. It was only a matter of formalities until she was crowned. Could Merrill seriously leave her for a piece of scum whom she could kill with a wave of her hand?

Merrill saw that Hawke remained nonresponsive to her, "Ma Vhenan! Angrod means nothing to me! He only helped fix something in my house, that was it." She knew that Hawke was making a bigger deal than was necessary, especially since she had dealt with way more from Hawke but decided against bringing that fact up in front of the entire alienage. As it was, she wouldn't be able to show her face there for a while, she didn't want to make things worse.

Merrill's words were able to break Hawke from her raging daze and she was able to calm down enough to not kill Angrod but before releasing the elf, Hawke made sure to slam him against the wall a couple of times for good measure, "Be thankful I am sparing your life and stay away from Merrill because next time I won't be so merciful."

Angrod nodded quickly and ran away as fast as his feet could carry him as soon as Hawke released her hold on him. His entire body was in pain but he knew if he stayed a second longer, she might change her mind.

Hawke turned towards Merrill and saw the crowd that had gathered around them. Good. Now they were all warned. Less people to worry about.

But the frown on Merrill's face was not what she was expecting.

"Merrill..."

Merrill shook her head and left once more.

Hawke was left standing like a fool in the middle of the alienage with a ruined bouquet of flowers at her feet as the other elves of the alienage scowled at her.

A small flame fell from her hand and onto the flowers.

~OoOoOoOoOoO~

"Well this is nice," Fenris said after finishing his drink, "a night at the hanged man without having to listen to Merrill's annoying voice. Did you finally get rid of her?"

Hawke sighed, too tired to deal with him, and got up from the table and left the bar. Varric gave Fenris an angry glare before following the woman outside.

He found Hawke sitting on the steps that led to Hightown.

"Fine weather we are having huh'?" Varric said as he took a seat beside her. Hawke was silent a few seconds before speaking up.

"You don't even like me Varric, you probably hate my guts, and I know this and that's fine with me. So you really don't have to sit out here with me and try to decipher what is wrong with me and why I didn't slam Fenris' face into the table when he made his stupid comment about Merrill." Hawke said in a calm voice, not mad but slightly annoyed.

"It's true. I kinda do hate you a bit." Varric said as he looked down onto the dirty steps, "You are mean, a bitch, selfish, and are too quick to set people aflame, but I respect your skill and your achievements. And because of that, I have one piece of advice I would like to give you."

"What is that?" Hawke asked when Varric did not continue, probably waiting for her to speak.

"Well," He began, "I don't know what's wrong between you and Daisy but I know something is definitely wrong. You know that news spread fast and especially those dealing with the soon-to-be Viscount of Kirkwall threatening to kill an Alienage elf just because he flirted with her woman."

"But he was-" Hawke's explanation was interrupted when Varric held up his hand, "It doesn't matter, Hawke. You need to realize that Daisy deals with what you dealt with today, _every_ day. We all know that you flirt with women all the time, but we also know that you love Merrill. That is also something everyone knows."

Hawke nodded as the dwarf continued.

"I know that you love Merrill, Hawke, but you need to make sure she knows that too. Make sure she knows that you won't leave her for any of the pretty faces you flirt with." Varric stood up from his place and took a step away before glancing back at Hawke.

"Being on the top is great, Hawke, but you will be left on the top alone if you don't get your act together. Believe me, the top can get pretty miserable if you are there by yourself. There will be a lot of women like Tallis, but there is only one Merrill."

Hawke watched Varric retreat back into the Hanged man and felt the cold breeze of the night blowing in her face. Her armor felt heavier as she made her way up the stairs back to Hightown.

The only sound in the empty streets seemed to be that of her staff hitting lightly against the back of her armor. As she crossed through Hightown, she could make out the sound of the water bubbling in one of the water fountains.

As she neared it, she slowed down when she spotted a lone figure sitting along the fountain. Once she was closer, she quickened her steps when she realized it was Merrill.

"Hawke," Merrill said in a voice merely above a whisper when Hawke appeared before her. "I-"

"Merrill," Hawke interrupted, "I am so sorry about today at the alienage. And about Tallis. And everyone else I have flirted with."

Hawke sat next to Merrill, "Please forgive me, I never want you to feel unpretty, or like you are not good enough." Merrill shivered lightly when Hawke grabbed her chin lightly with her cold gloved hand and turned her face towards her, "You are the woman of my dreams, Merrill, and nobody will ever change that. You have to know that you are the most beautiful woman, human or elf, or any race for that matter, that I have ever met. You complete me in ways that nobody else can and I am sorry it has taken me this long to realize my mistake. Now I realize that it was rude and mean of me to flirt with Tallis and other women right in front of you, and I promise not to do it in front of you nor anywhere else ever again."

"Please believe me when I say that I love you, Merrill. I couldn't live without you." Hawke waited momentarily to see if Merrill would say anything, but when she remained silent, Hawke leaned in and kissed the elf's lips softly, willing the kiss to show Merrill that she spoke the truth.

When she pulled back, Merrill smiled softly, "I love you too, Ma Vhenan. I believe you and I am grateful for what you are doing for me."

Hawke nodded with a grin and leaned in for another kiss but Merrill backed away slightly, "Before we continue, we should really talk about your jealousy issues."

"My-my jealous issues?" Hawke asked incredulously. Hadn't it been Merrill the one with issues just a few minutes ago?

"Mhmm." Merrill hummed in agreement, "Threatening to kill a man because he flirted with me can not be healthy."

"But-"

"No buts Serah Hawke," Merrill said as she got up and tugged on Hawke's hand, "Now let's go home before it gets too late and you threaten to kill anyone else today."

Hawke smiled contently as she walked hand-in-hand with Merrill back to the estate. As they walked by the entrance to the Viscount's court, she couldn't help but feel joy in her heart knowing that when she finally made it in there, to the top, she wouldn't be alone.

Merrill would be there with her.


End file.
